It is official: Washington State has the highest fuel prices in the lower 48 with an average price of $2.392 per gallon of regular unleaded.
Two things caused this to happen:
1: Second highest per gallon tax rate at $0.559 per.
2: Our junior Senator, Maria Cantwell, makes life very unfriendly here for oil companies and has pushed legislation that drastically cut the number of oil tankers allowed in the Puget Sound, as well as harassed refinery owners to the point that they just up and leave. Low local supply means importation of fuel and/or shortages.
Welcome to your micro-scale version of Barack Obama’s America.